Work Text:
Jeremy was lying in his bed, unable to fall back asleep. His body had an internal clock to wake up at 4 AM, because Michael, for some fucking reason, had the need to call Jeremy at 4:20 every god damn morning to tell him it was “weed o’ clock”. On weekends he would even get stoned for the next hour. With Jeremy still on the phone. Jeremy sighed and looked at his clock. It read 4:10 AM, meaning there was no point in trying to fall back asleep because any minute his phone would go off.
The next nine minutes went by and Jeremy just waited for his phone to ring so he could hear Michael yell, “Hey, motherfucker, it’s weed o’clock!” and hang up and go back to sleep before Michele could light up his bong. He always answered Michael when he called because he learned from experience, that if he doesn’t, Michael will just call him over and over again until he picks up.
Jeremy was surprised when his phone didn’t go off at the very second it turned 4:20 like it normally did. But he waited nonetheless. He waited until it turned 4:21. Maybe the clocks in Michael’s house were a minute behind. Or Jeremy’s clock was a minute ahead. But his phone said 4:21. He sent Michael a quick text.
To Player 1: You missed 4:20
There was no immediate response like there should have been. But he waited. He was honestly relieved that he didn’t have to hear Michael screaming in his ear this early, but something in his gut told him that something was off. It really wasn’t like Michael to miss something like this. He already was tentative about a regular schedule, so any chance to make a pot joke was something he’d never miss. He wouldn’t just decide to stop one day.
Jeremy suddenly realized he’d been lost in thought for the last ten minutes. Still no response from Michael. He sent two more messages.
To Player 1: Are you even awake?
You never miss out on a chance to tell me it’s 4:20.
By the time it reached 4:45, there was still no response from Michael, and Jeremy was admittedly, getting worried.
To Player 1: Dude if you don’t answer me by 5, I’m coming over there.
Jeremy frowned at his phone as he sent the message. He pushed his blanket down to his feet, despite the shock of the coolness of the rest of the room. The minutes went by and there was still nothing from Michael. At 4:55, he made the executive decision that he was walking to Michael’s house, whether or not he answered him by 5. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, before walking as quietly as possible down the stairs and slipping on his converse. He slipped out the front door, remembering to lock it behind him with his key, before heading down the street in the direction of Michael’s house.
Jeremy reaches Michael’s house in about ten minutes and walked up to the front door. He saw Michael’s moms’ cars in the driveway and quietly cursed to himself. He decided to go directly to the basement, which was conveniently Michael’s room. He ran around the back of the house and pushed the window pane away before dropping himself in, feet first, and careful not to smack his head on the wall like he’s done many times before.
“Michael?” Jeremy called out quietly. He heard coughing coming from the bathroom, as if it was the response. Jeremy walked to the bathroom and saw Michael stand up from the toilet, wiping his mouth. “Michael? Are you okay?” Michael jumped in surprise.
“Jesus Christ!” He yelped hoarsely, grabbing his chest. “You scared the shit out of me!” Michael said, breaking off into wet coughs.
“Sorry,” Jeremy said, frowning. “Are you okay? You sound awful. Have you been throwing up all night?” Jeremy said, probably asking too many questions at once.
“No. Just this time,” he said, pausing to sniffle thickly. “I just coughed so hard I puked, so that was fun.”
“Christ. Is this why you didn’t call me at 4:20?” Jeremy asked, walking over to Michael.
“Mhmm,” Michael hummed before doubling over in a harsh coughing fit.
“Jesus, Michael,” Jeremy sighed. “Take it easy, dude.” He placed his hand on Michael’s shoulder to comfort him, but frowned at the heat he could feel. “Mike, look at me for a sec?” Michael looked at Jeremy, and the first thing he saw was the pink flush coloring his dark skin. He quickly cupped his palm over Michael’s forehead. “You feel kind of warm. Come on, you should get back in bed,” Jeremy said, taking Michael’s hand and pulled him across the room. Michael suddenly shivered, then pitched forward with the force of two sneezes. “Bless you.” Michael climbed under the covers and curled into a ball. Jeremy thought for a minute. “I’ll be right back,” he said before walking into the bathroom and rummaging around the cabinet. He brought back a cup of water, a thermometer and medicine. “Here. Take your temperature,” Jeremy said, handing Michael the thermometer. After a minute the thermometer beeped and Michael read the numbers.
“101.3 degrees,” Michael muttered, handing Jeremy the thermometer and dropping his head back on his pillow. Jeremy turned the thermometer off and set it on the side table.
“Here, take some meds,” Jeremy said, handing Michael some pills and the cup of water. Michael pushed himself back up and took the medicine with the water. He put the empty cup on his nightstand and leaned against the headboard. “How are ya feelin’?”
“Honestly?” Michael began, congestion clinging to his voice, “I feel like shit.” Jeremy frowned and sat next to Michael.
“That sucks, dude,” Jeremy said taking Michael’s hand. Michael nodded. Michael turned and muffle three wet sneezes into his arm. “Bless,” Jeremy cooed, moving to Michael’s side to pull him close and comb his fingers through Michael’s hair. Jeremy smiled when Michael nuzzled his head into the crook of Jeremy’s neck. “Are you tired?”
“Mm,” Michael hummed, sniffling thickly. Jeremy looked at the clock. It read 5:15; way too early for either of them to be awake. He looked back at Michael, who was half asleep. Jeremy tried to inch away so Michael could sleep, but Michael grabbed his sleeve. “Stay here,” Michael pleaded. Jeremy looked at Michael, who was practically pouting.
“Oh, uh, yeah, sure, I just thought, you know, that you’d wanna sleep, but I’ll stay,” Jeremy said, feeling flustered for no reason. Maybe it was just how cute Michael was with his pink nose and cheeks, or how vulnerable and weak he seemed. He crawled back into the bed next to Michael and pulled him close again. Michael immediately buried his head in Jeremy’s chest. “Thank god it’s Saturday, because if I had to go to school today I’d probably cry.” Michael hummed in response. “Your moms are gonna find us in the morning,” Jeremy said. “And my dad’s gonna kill me for leaving in the middle of the night... And honestly I couldn’t care less,” Jeremy said, wrapping his arms around Michael even tighter. Michael was already mostly asleep when Jeremy said, “Well. I guess calling me at 4:20 every morning was good for something.” Michael started giggling uncontrollably. “What? What’s so funny?” Michael broke into a coughing fit before looking Jeremy in the eyes.
“420, blaze it,” Michael said before dissolving into another fit of laughter. Jeremy sighed.
“I’d say it was your fever making you like this, but I know it’s not,” Jeremy said, laughing. “Now go the fuck to sleep so you can kick this bug and call me every morning.”